2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

←  2006 November 4, 2008 (2008-11-04) 2010  →
All 2 Maine seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 2 0 Seats won 2 0 Seat change Popular vote 431,903 278,198 Percentage 60.82% 39.18% Swing 4.62pp 8.68pp
District results County results Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

The 2008 congressional elections in Maine were held on November 4, 2008, to determine representation for the state of Maine in the United States House of Representatives, coinciding with the presidential and senatorial elections. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011.

Maine has two seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its 2007–2008 congressional delegation consisted of two Democrats. No districts changed party, although CQ Politics forecasted district 1 to be at some risk for the incumbent party. The primary election for Republican Party and Democratic Party candidates was held on June 10, 2008. ^[1]

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Maine, 2008 [2]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	431,903	60.82%	2	—
	Republican	278,198	39.18%	0	—
Totals		710,101	100.00%	2	—

District 1

2008 Maine's 1st congressional district election

←  2006 2010  →

Nominee Chellie Pingree Charlie Summers Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 205,629 168,930 Percentage 54.90% 45.10%

U.S. Representative before election Tom Allen Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree Democratic

See also: Maine's 1st congressional district

This was an open seat in 2008 because incumbent Democrat Tom Allen ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Susan Collins. Democrats were favored to hold this seat but were not assured of victory; John Kerry won 55% here in 2004 (CPVI=D+6). The Democratic nominee was Chellie Pingree, former Common Cause President and former Maine Senate Majority Leader who ran against Collins in 2002. The Republican nominee was Charlie Summers, former Maine State Senator, Northeast Small Business Administration Director and Iraq War veteran who ran against Allen in 2004.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chellie Pingree	24,324	43.92%
	Democratic	Adam Cote	15,706	28.36%
	Democratic	Michael F. Brennan	6,040	10.91%
	Democratic	Ethan Strimling	5,833	10.53%
	Democratic	Mark Lawrence	2,726	4.92%
	Democratic	Stephen J. Meister	753	1.35%
Total votes			55,382	100%

Republican primary

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charles E. Summers	21,154	59.75%
	Republican	Dean Scontras	14,248	40.25%
Total votes			35,402	100%

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [5]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg [6]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics [8]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics [9]	Likely D	November 6, 2008

Results

Maine's 1st congressional district election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chellie Pingree	205,629	54.90
	Republican	Charles E. Summers	168,930	45.10
Total votes			374,559	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: Maine's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Mike Michaud (campaign website) was challenged by Republican John N. Frary.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [5]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg [6]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics [8]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics [9]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Maine's 2nd congressional district election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Michaud (inc.)	226,274	67.44
	Republican	John N. Frary	109,268	32.56
Total votes			335,542	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

1. Tabulations for Elections held in 2008 Archived 2008-07-09 at the Wayback Machine Maine Secretary of State'
2. "2006 Election Statistics". clerk.house.gov.
3. "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections and Voting, Results, 2008-09 Tabulations,2008 Primary Election Tabulations, U.S. House of Representatives, 1st District - Democratic". www.maine.gov.
4. "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections and Voting, Results, 2008-09 Tabulations,2008 Primary Election Tabulations, U.S. House of Representatives, 1st District - Republican". www.maine.gov.
5. "2008 Competitive House Race Chart". House: Race Ratings. The Cook Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
6. "2008 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 2, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
7. "2008 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
8. "Battle for the House of Representatives". realclearpolitics.com. Real Clear Politics. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
9. "Race Ratings Chart: House". cqpolitics.com. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.

External links

• Elections Division from the Maine Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for Maine at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions for Maine congressional races from OpenSecrets
• Maine U.S. House of Representatives race from 2008 Race Tracker